Bassette v. Standard Fire Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 06 July 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 2D00-2836.,2D00-2836. |
| Citation | 803 So.2d 744 |
| Parties | Carol BASSETTE, Appellant, v. STANDARD FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
George A. Vaka of Vaka, Larson & Johnson, P.L., Tampa, for Appellant.
Kelly Kathleen Gray of Law Offices of Charles E. McKeon, P.A., Tampa, for Appellee.
SCHEB, JOHN M., (Senior) Judge.
The appellant, Carol Bassette, sued the appellee, Standard Fire Insurance Company, claiming uninsured motorist benefits under two policies. During the litigation a dispute arose between them as to whether Ms. Bassette was required to execute broad authorizations for Standard Fire to secure her medical records. The matter was resolved in Ms. Bassette's favor in a declaratory judgment action. However, the trial court denied her motion to require Standard Fire to pay her attorney's fees in that action. Because the insurer, Standard Fire, engendered a dispute concerning Ms. Bassette's uninsured motorist benefits in which it threatened a denial of coverage, we hold that Ms. Bassette, the insured, is entitled to recover attorney's fees. We reverse the trial court's order to the contrary.
In March 1995 Ms. Bassette suffered injuries as a result of an auto accident when a vehicle owned by William Miles and operated by his wife, Alice Miles, struck the vehicle in which Ms. Bassette was a passenger. In February 1999 Ms. Bassette filed suit to recover damages for her personal injuries. She joined Standard Fire, seeking to recover uninsured motorist benefits under two policies. Before and during the litigation, Standard Fire requested Ms. Bassette to produce medical records from her numerous prior health care providers and to execute medical authorizations allowing Standard Fire to obtain her medical records and confer with her present health care providers. When Standard Fire advised that the terms of the insurance policies required Ms. Bassette to sign the authorizations, she filed timely objections and took the position that the requested authorizations would allow Standard Fire to have ex parte communications with her treating psychiatrists, psychologists, and other health care providers. Standard Fire continued to insist that Ms. Bassette sign the requested authorizations, warning her counsel that her failure to cooperate as requested "may result in a denial of coverage" under the auto insurance policies it issued.
The issue reached an impasse. On July 9, 1999, Ms. Bassette filed suit against Standard Fire, seeking a declaratory judgment. She posited that during litigation she could not be compelled to execute any authorization that would lead to ex parte contact by Standard Fire with her health care providers. She contended that once she filed suit, she was not required to execute the requested medical authorizations because the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure concerning discovery, not the terms of the insurance contracts, governed. She also sought to recover attorney's fees and costs.
In seeking a stay, Standard Fire acknowledged that Ms. Bassette's complaint involved a "declaration directly involving issues of coverage under the uninsured/underinsured portion of the policy." In its response to her complaint, Standard Fire filed a memorandum stating that its attorney had sent letters to Ms. Bassette's lawyer attempting to clarify that the requests which it made were pursuant to policy requirements and that compliance with those requests was a condition of coverage. It argued that the cooperation clause in its policies was valid and enforceable and required an insured to execute the requested authorizations. Of significance, Standard Fire contended that initiation of the suit for uninsured motorist benefits under the policies did not bar it from obtaining the medical records it requested. Finally, Standard Fire pointed out that although it was not asserting a coverage defense at the time, it would not waive its right to assert a coverage defense in the future.
The trial court consolidated Ms. Bassette's complaint for a declaratory judgment with her underlying personal injury/uninsured motorist coverage suit. The court subsequently granted Ms. Bassette's motion for summary judgment solely on the ground that the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure governed any discovery in the uninsured motorist action postsuit. The court awarded Ms. Bassette costs as the prevailing party in the litigation. Standard Fire did not appeal this...
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